Noble Lady

A strange look flashed in the Queen Mother's eyes, but she didn't embarrass Princess Cheng in front of so many people.

"With all these beautiful ladies from noble families here, the competition is over, and now it's time for the main event."

The Queen Mother said this and glanced at Concubine Chen and the Sixth Prince.

Concubine Chen nodded and said, "That's right, mother."

Then he called the Sixth Prince to stand up.

Situ Zhen has always been self-aware and has already stood up and is ready.

His Majesty:"……"

Everyone knows that you are positive, but you don't have to be so positive.

The chief eunuch, Eunuch Wang, immediately waved his hand and asked his servants to come up.

Two baskets of flowers in full bloom were handed to him.

He first handed Situ Zhen a basket of six white peonies and reminded him, "Sir, if you have a crush on a girl, give these flowers to her."

"Thank you, Eunuch Wang."

Eunuch Wang then handed flowers to the Sixth Prince, his was a blue peony, and then said the same words, just changing the address.

The Sixth Prince said politely, "Thank you for your concern, Eunuch. I know."

Then he said to Situ Zhen, "Cousin, please go first."

"It's okay, you can come too." Situ Zhen said lightly.

The Sixth Prince knew his goal today. After looking at Concubine Chen, he nodded.

Situ Zhen took the lead and left with the basket.

But he didn't even look at the dozen or twenty noble ladies present, and walked straight towards Xue Chenyu.

"Great blessing." The Queen Mother whispered, seeming annoyed and helpless.

I have clearly explained the interests involved to him long ago, so why is this child still so willful?

But he was already past the age of twenty and was no longer a child after all.

The Queen Mother was at a loss for a moment, not knowing whether to sit still or stand up.

Compared to the Queen Mother's nervous attitude, His Majesty was much more calm, and it seemed that Prince Cheng could make whatever choice he wanted.

Princess Cheng's expression was truly ugly, and her resentful eyes seemed to want to stare through Xue Chenyu.

What kind of drug had this woman given the prince? She had made him lose all sense of right and wrong and completely bewildered!

How could he let his temper decide the selection of a concubine? It was a matter of great importance to the reputation of Prince Cheng's mansion.

If he really liked the daughter of the Xue family, he could take her into the palace as a concubine after he married his principal wife!

If he really chose a divorced woman as the Crown Prince's consort, he, the Princess of Cheng, would be laughed at by the noble ladies and wives of the wealthy and powerful families in Shengjing, who would talk about him for the past year or so.

How can she hold her head up high in front of others in the future?

But the Queen Mother and His Majesty are both here, and neither of them objects. If I were to object, wouldn't that be an insult to His Majesty and the Queen Mother?

But the Queen Mother was obviously unhappy, so why didn't he speak up to stop her?

The thought flashed through her mind, and the Queen Mother also looked at her. Princess Cheng quickly collected her thoughts and tried to force a smile, "Prince, please don't be impulsive."

There was no difference between saying these words and speaking them out loud, and only she could hear them.

I don’t know if this can be considered as deceiving myself or others.

But Situ Zhen was not afraid at all. Under the expectant gaze of many noble ladies, he slowly walked up to Xue Chenyu.

Then he threw all six of his white peonies into the small white porcelain vase in front of her.

Ding-a-ling sound, very pleasant to the ear.

Xue Chenyu was stunned, "This..."

"Give you all."

Everyone present was startled.

The Empress Dowager, His Majesty and others at the top of the table all paused.

His Majesty smiled, but when he saw that the Queen Mother was unhappy, he frowned.

The Queen Mother frowned, and the air pressure around her dropped.

She thought that Dafu would be a rebellious child, but she didn't expect him to be so reckless.

This child...

Princess Cheng: How dare he? How dare he do this?! This is completely disgracing the Cheng Palace!

Even though there were rumors before that he might be the only legitimate son born to the late queen, even so, he was still the prince of Prince Cheng's mansion, so he had to consider the face and dignity of Prince Cheng's mansion.

How could you dishonor the reputation of Prince Cheng's Mansion like this?!

"Prince, this is against the rules!" Eunuch Wang hurriedly chased after him and said.

Compared to the Prince Cheng who was the focus of everyone's attention, the Sixth Prince on the other side had already put the first blue peony flower into the vase in front of Chen Lizhu.

Chen Lizhu was still paying attention to Xue Chenyu, and was caught off guard when she heard the crisp sound of a flower stem falling to the flat ground, and then she came to her senses.

"...Sixth Prince?" There was some hope in her eyes.

The Sixth Prince just smiled at her and then continued to throw two blue peonies into the bottle in front of her.

Chen Lizhu: “…”

The other noble ladies were also stunned.

Even His Majesty, the Queen Mother, and Concubine Chen were a little surprised.

The inherent rule of the flower viewing banquet is that the six flowers in their hands should be given to the six noble ladies participating in the selection, but Situ Zhen directly gave all six flowers to Xue Chenyu at once, which ignored the rules.

Unexpectedly, the Sixth Prince also did the same thing and gave three flowers to Chen Lizhu.

In this way, although he still had three sticks left in his hand, the rules were also messed up.

"Isn't this against the rules?" Concubine Chen said.

Although he had promised his son in advance that he would choose Lizhu as his princess, she did not instruct him to do so.

She had considered it before she spoke. It was indeed a bit against the rules for her son to do this, but because Prince Cheng had set an example, her measures could not be too harsh.

Otherwise, people would think she was taking the opportunity to make indirect accusations.

Princess Cheng was desperately trying to find an opportunity to bully Situ Zhen. Seeing Concubine Chen speak, she quickly said, "Yes, mother, your majesty, I'm afraid what the prince did is against the rules."

"At flower viewing banquets, six flowers are always given to six noble ladies. This is our ancestral family rule. How can the prince change it so easily because of one person?"

From what he said, he seemed to be bewitched by Xue Chenyu and had the intention of disparaging her.

But she forgot that although the Sixth Prince did not give all six flowers to the third lady of the Chen Palace, he did give away half of them.

His indirect criticism, as she wished, included the Prince of Cheng and the Princess of Anping in the criticism, and even the Sixth Prince and the Third Young Lady of the Duke of Chen's Mansion were included in the criticism.

At that moment, even the Empress Dowager, His Majesty, and Concubine Chen all looked unhappy.

Situ Zhen and the Sixth Prince, who were delivering flowers, also looked disapproving.

Xue Chenyu was at a loss as to what to do, "...Prince." Why don't you think about it again?

Situ Zhen didn't say anything, but his eyes clearly said, "I said I would let everyone know that I want to marry you openly. This matter is non-negotiable."

Xue Chenyu seemed to have no doubt that if she dared to persuade him, he would probably say something shocking in the impulse.

So she chose to remain silent.

"Your Majesty, what do you think?" the Queen Mother asked slowly.

His Majesty did not speak.

After a brief pause, the Sixth Prince gave away the remaining three flowers in his hand.

The task can be considered completed.

He also wanted to learn from Prince Cheng and give all six flowers to one person, but he did not have the Queen Mother to support him. If he did so, his mother would expose him when he returned.

So he can only rebel a little, but not too much.

After delivering the flowers, the Sixth Prince returned to Concubine Chen.

Concubine Chen looked at her rebellious son. Because of the occasion and because Situ Zhen had set an example, she couldn't scold him for the moment.

Neither the Queen Mother nor His Majesty spoke.

The one who was most angry was Princess Cheng.

If she had restrained her resentment towards Xue Chenyu before, now she has completely revealed it.

She stared at Xue Chenyu blatantly, wishing she could peel off her skin right then and there to see what kind of demon was hiding under this seductive exterior!

Had Situ Zhen never seen a woman in his life? How could he be so easily captivated by a married woman?

Is she, a second-married girl who is out in public, much better than those noble ladies who are kept in seclusion?

He was still there, looking at what? If he didn't look at her for a second, would she be able to fly away?

I don’t know how long the stalemate lasted.

All the noble ladies present were silent, no one spoke.

Some people understood it tacitly, revealing a helpless smile that said, "As expected."

Some people looked at Situ Zhen or the Sixth Prince, unable to conceal their lost expressions, their hearts secretly in love, but before they could express themselves, they quietly withered like flowers out of season;

Some people also stared at Xue Chenyu, just like Princess Cheng, wishing they could burn through her with their eyes, and the resentment in their eyes was beyond words.

"Da Fu." The Queen Mother spoke, breaking the silence.

Situ Zhen and Xue Chenyu smiled, then turned around and bowed to the emperor, "Please give your instructions, Empress Dowager."

"come here."